starved rock

so corey and i (& jeanne!) went on a little getaway to starved rock state park in utica, illinois! mimi and papa stayed and watched the boys while we went hiking. we had lovely fall weather and really enjoyed ourselves although we kept seeing things that would make us think of the boys (note the pix of the barge heading into the lock... james would've had a heart attack to witness such an event!) jeanne was a real trooper. she does love the bjorn and, as a result, (unfortunately for her) slept through most of our hikes. anyway, we're back and feeling rejuvenated!

october is here

i have no catchy title this time. our pictures are from a variety of outings and home life, so i could not come up with a unifying slogan (any thoughts, anyone, after seeing all the pix?) anywho, jeanne is growing... BIG time... literally. she is by far my biggest babe yet (and that's saying something!) she was 15 lbs. at her 2 mos. checkup, and i guarantee has put on quite a bit since. and while she is off the charts with her weight, at least she is also off the charts with her head size and in th 99th percentile for height. all this to say she is at least proportionally large. and what a sweetheart. she gives the best smiles and has even started laughing when i tickle her! 2 nights ago was her first night in her crib in her own room and she did just fine. before we'll know it she'll be sleeping through the night (fingers crossed!) james is a pro at this whole school thing, and he has been a big help on mondays and tuesdays, holding sean's hand as they get out of the car and walk up to school. it is quite a cute sight to see them walking hand in hand up to the door and out again when school's over. he has been taking swim lessons once a week, going with papa to knollwood and the reports have all been good (not that he has actually put his face in the water yet, but we're making progress!) seanny is still our little seanny. we're so happy that he has taken to school well, and he has become quite sweet on jeanne, his favorite activity being pointing out all her body parts (especially her nose- check out the photo.) corey and i are definitely staying busy, but loving the fall weather. love you all.

family fun

so, this past weekend found us outdoors quite a bit. as many of you know, fall is by FAR my FAVE season, and the weather is finally starting to turn!!!! campus was great and festive as only it can be on a home football weekend. then it was off on a wild goose chase trip to the apple farm (thanks jim and e! i know, we deserved it after the trip to the pumpkin farm last year!) a blast was had by all. james even ate an apple (a truly happy shocking feat.) we are now, however, all paying the price for our time outside. suddenly our whole house is full to overflowing with tissues. allergies are upon us all. major pain. but worth it foe-show.

seanny boy turns 2!

so, even though we technically celebrated sean's birthday (complete with a wow wow wubbzy cake co. mimi) on sunday, we had to do SOMETHING on his actual birthday as well. and what better way than to open gifts and eat cookies (sean's actual favorite- poor kid, if you can believe it, is not really a fan of cake OR ice cream!) thanks, aunt kiernan, for his cool "i can do it myself" basket! james seemed to get almost as much as sean out of the celebrating (maybe more? he's still asking if sean can open some more presents...) and while jeanne was technically present, she had her eyes closed and was snoring peacefully so we didn't include her in the photo ops. SO! we now have a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and a 2 month old! we are doing good!!!

baptized beauty, pagan princess no more

so, our girl is good and blessed. it was such a joyous weekend filled with family and fun. nonnie and grandfather even flew in for the special occasion. thanks to godmom, kiernan, for hosting such a great afterparty, and to godpop, michael, for coming in for the weekend!

the cressys v. the corn & ND v. MI

wow wow what a corn field. it's right off douglas rd. and capital. a true corn maze complete with cornhole games, hay stacks, and quiz stations strategically placed throughout the maze itself (which is in some sort of halloween shape if viewed from above.) we had a blast and thankfully lost no children in the process (though james tried pretty hard!)

it was great to get a win under our belts, and even better to hang out with the mccormick clan, the romeros, and mr. brady and ella.

saturdays and sundays in september...

be it at notre dame or at the park, september is a fabulous time of year to be out and about. crazy to think 6 years ago we were dancing the night away at the heart of the vineyard... lot's happened since then...